20 years of Armenia’s Constitution: jurist about current situation, further steps
Today is the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s Constitution.
In an interview with Tert.am, Artak Zeinalyan, a member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and human rights activist, spoke of the new grounds constitutional amendments (not yet officially adopted) are expected to break – proportional representation and parliamentary government.
Mr Zeinalyan, who has been for prime ministerial government as the most optimal model since the early 2000s, notes that the current system actually scapegoats the premier.
“The government’s achievements add to the president’s credit, while its failures lower the premier’s credit,” Mr Zeinalyan said.
The most important is that the authorities organizing a constitutional referendum be legitimate and ensure an adequate atmosphere in the country. This is a factor playing a crucial role in whether the people are or are not concerned with constitutional reforms.
The greatest problem is that the government bodies are not actually observing the current Constitution.
“The legislature is not performing its functions either, failing to ensure human rights. This is the cause of a constitutional crisis,” Mr Zeinalyan said.
The fact that the Constitutional Court’s rulings are not implemented is evidence of a permanent constitutional crisis in Armenia.
A typical example is the answers by government officials in courts: they claim they “follow the law” when they are shown points of the Constitution.
“They follow the law, they are executing orders, not applying legal norms,” Mr Zeinalyan said.
“The way of adopting the Constitution is of great importance. It is even more important than the content of the Constitution itself. This is what account for what we call society’s interest in the Constitution. If people participate in the voting – irrespective of whether they vote for or against – and are sure it is a decision made by a majority, it is a popular document. Our Constitution adopted in 1995 and edited in 2005 was not approved by the people,” he said.
In summing up, he stressed the importance of people’s participation in the referendum.
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